Short, sharp 'Appcessory' Reviews + News for fellow geeks, educators and parents.
PlaneQuest, where Miniatures Tablets = TabletTop gaming! by TabletTop Interactive™ — Kickstarter
I’m a backer
Posted on Monday, April 22nd 2013
Source kickstarter.com
Posted on Monday, April 22nd 2013
Source ilounge.com
Need the ability to recharge your device when out and about? This looks to be a great affordable option - a mini-hand crank and battery via Photojojo
Posted on Wednesday, April 17th 2013
Source photojojo.com
‘There’s no App for that’ - My latest article about 3 Add-on lenses for iPhoneography HERE.
Posted on Thursday, March 28th 2013
Wow - a simple but elegant thermometer Appcessory: Thermodo ~ The Tiny Thermometer for Mobile Devices by Robocat — Kickstarter
Posted on Friday, March 8th 2013
Source kickstarter.com
The Pebble ‘connected’ watch. After raising $10 million dollars on kickstarter, this watch that connects via bluetooth to smartphones is an early sign that wearable tech is the next big thing in Appcessories. Read my review at Mactalk here.
Posted on Friday, March 1st 2013
Discovered this site yesterday - many many great appcessory products have been compiled and listed for sale in the one place. A great site to browse just to see what kind of great products are out there now for the iPad/iPhone eco-system.
Posted on Thursday, February 14th 2013
I’ve written an article at Mactalk.com.au going over three smart power plugs - two of which talk to apps on your iPhone/iPad. Head over THERE to find out more, and look for a follow up article where I get to test them out head to head.
Posted on Thursday, February 14th 2013
Wow - Appcessories has grown to encompass such a large market now that not just Target, but Apple themselves are acknowledging it - and with a specialised page as part of the official Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/ipad_accessories/app_enabled
- This is now probably the best site on the web to explore this growing melding of digital and physical accessories. By grouping (currently) 91 of the best products together, you get the advantage of star ratings from other buyers, plus Apple’s free shipping. Perfect in time for the holiday season?
Posted on Saturday, December 8th 2012
For many, the digital age sometimes means we have to choose between pen/paper and typing/online. The new Moleskin notebook from Evernote however manages to bridge this divide very well by having you use an app and your camera to ‘scan’ what you drawn/written. Even better, stickers you can place onto the paper pages are used by the app to sort the digitised notes into your preferred online notebook automagically.
Read my full review here at Mactalk.com.au to find out more.
Posted on Wednesday, December 5th 2012
Appcessories have hit the mainstream it seems!
Posted on Tuesday, December 4th 2012
I recently reviewed this rad foldup smartphone scanner box - its very impressive creation of card and magnets that works very well as a cheap but portable document scanner. Read the full review at Mactalk.com.au here.
Posted on Tuesday, November 27th 2012
The Block iPhone 4/4S Toddler case and Toddler App
App = 4 out of 5 for having multiple options that all help solve a real world problem for parents with toddlers - for free.
Accessory = 4 out of 5 for giving parents an easy way to block the iPhone home button without too many compromises at a cheap price
WHAT
The Toddler App gives parents an app that can keep a toddler temporarily occupied with pre-chosen, appropriate content. It gives toddlers three options - a short animated animals cartoon, access to selected photos stored on your phone, and access to selected videos stored on your phone.
The case is a fairly standard plastic one that gives good protection as well as access to all ports and buttons - but also has a clip on section that can be stored on the back of the case, or clipped across the home button when needed to stop toddlers leaving the app and potentially playing havoc with other apps and settings on your iPhone.
HOW
The home button block can cleverly be clipped either way, on the back when not needed, or across the home button. It snaps into slots on either side of the case in fairly quick fashion.
The app gives parents peace of mind in what toddlers will access by only displaying photos and videos from the camera roll. In addition, these can be swiped through, but no edit or delete etc buttons are shown. Each section also requires that two touch points be simultaneously tapped before they can be exited.
VERDICT
At first I wondered what the Block case could do that the new ‘Guided Access’ mode in iOS6 doesn’t already supply. This new mode lets you triple tap the home button to turn on a ‘one-app-at-a-time’ option that stops the home button working until a passcode has been entered. What I found was that swapping the block around to hide the home button was faster than triple clicking and selecting options etc.
I was concerned that a clever toddler would be able to just pull off the block - indeed my own one year-old did so within 4 seconds when holding just the case - however once on the phone itself, she was not able remove it. Older kids may be different however? I’d advise never letting them watch you clipping it on and off.
In combination with the free app, and given the low price ($14.95) of the Block case, I’d highly recommend this as a good option for parents. In fact I gifted the sample case reviewed here to an iPhone 4 using friend who is about to give birth.
More: http://www.thetoddlerapp.com/
Posted on Wednesday, November 7th 2012
The Livescribe smart pen has just been updated to a new ‘Sky’ model that includes two new great features making it an even better note-taking appcessory for iOS users - 1. wifi so it syncs as you write without having to be plugged in, and 2. Full Evernote integration - so re-playable notes are always available via the Evernote app.
- Look for a review here soon
More info via The Verge and Smartpen Australia
Posted on Monday, October 29th 2012
This could just be the most interesting ‘Appcessory’ for young kids since the Disney Appmate Cars - Tiggly shapes that interact with special early years learning apps - I’m a a backer after having played with some of the prototypes earlier in the year - I’d highly recommend this project.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stevemiller/tiggly-the-first-ipad-toy-for-toddlers
Posted on Thursday, October 25th 2012
Notes